Well 2012 was a great period for smartphone growth. We saw a tremendous leap in innovation and number crunching powers in the new smartphone. And also with that we saw how sophisticated they were becoming, not just in the hardware department, but also in design. We saw some radical designs and well some, say, much "less" radical *cough* iPhone 5 *cough*.
And not just that, I have also noticed that people are now more aware than ever about smartphones and their working, be it software or hardware. Well its not surprising considering the fact that one needs to gain tonnes of knowledge before buying a new smartphone.
And it is in this interest that I have compiled this article about all the technologies coming 2013 onward that's going to make you scrap the idea of getting a new One X or S III. But, this doesn't mean the current users are going to miss any of the 'phun'. The high end devices today have enough juice to last them till the end of '13.
Here is a list of advanced hardwares that will make up a new series of Super-phones!
Processors:
ARM
I'll start off with ARM's contribution to mobile technologies with their new ARM Cortex A-15.
This is the most popular of all the tech news running around the internet and quite old, although it is something commendable considering how far Cortex A-9 has pushed the mobile market.
So whats so great about ARM Cortex A15? Lets just say ARM was studying about these SoC [System on Chips] and they finally found out some ways to iron out some kinks. And after these learning steps, these is a significant improvement in the new A15's architecture and processing capability.
Someone in ARM may have had a vision that the current gen processors just wont be good enough for whats coming up. So what's so great about A15 compared A9:
1. Performance: The GHz in a processor represents the number of cycles it runs, and a way of measuring the performance of the processor is by the DMIPS/MHz. In laymen terms, this could be compared to Km/l for an automobile. DMIPS stands for - Dhrystone Millions of Instructions per Second. Like, how many millions of instructions it can finish processing in one MHz clock cycle. While the A9 has a 2.5 DMIPS/MHz, the new A15 clocked a 3.5 DMIPS/MHz and if pushed upto 4 DMIPS/MHz. Thats like a 40 - 60% improvement!
Again, we are all familiar with over-clocking. And well the new processor unlike the A9 [800 MHz - 2000 MHz] can be clocked to 1000 MHz - 2500 MHz. And with higher clockspeed and higher DMIPS/MHz, you get a potent blend for extreme power.
This new processor is expected on the new Exynos 5 chipset, Tegra series, OMAP and NovaThor series chipsets, which I will soon explain about.
2. Right now the current Quad core A9 processors are only 15% faster than the Dual core counterparts. But this will soon change with the A15 and its multi-thread operations. Of course the Quad A9 supports multi-threaded operations for apps, however with improved performance from the A15, the new processor could be 30% faster than the current A9 processor.
3. A15 is not just stopping at Quad core:
Just like how the A9 was pushed to quad core application through the Exynos 4 chipsets, the A15 can also be pushed except not just quad but 8 cores.
Also this new processor, which was built at server grades, comes with Hardware Virtualization supporting multiple ROM. So we may even find phones with more than one ROM running in the future.
Also this new processor will come with integrated NEON support. For the 'no-know', this is what helps smartphones play just any kind of media you load into it, be it mkv, mpeg4, avi, etc. With integration, the response will be much faster and more efficient.
4. The new GPU - Mali T604:
This might crush the heart of all S II users out there, but the GPU you people use is pure bullshit compared to whats coming. The new Mali T-604 is said to be 5 times faster than the ones used in S II and 3 times faster than the overclocked ones in S3 [ouch!]. Also, it supports the Google RenderScript used for hardware acceleration, resulting in more fluidic UI and richer animations in games. Also this new GPU wont stop at just a single core, but can be scaled upto quad core GPU. Currently, Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 comes with an 8 core and 12 core GPU, but these are just too weak compared to computation power of this new T604. Hence a quad 604 will kick ass compared to the rest!
According to James Bruce, ARM Lead Mobile Strategist, this new GPU will be so powerful that they can make the screen as close as to paper with almost invisible pixels. And with that a vast improvement in the graphics, hence my point - waiting for this new processor is sure to pay off!
Intel
Although really late with mobile processors, the veterans know what they are doing. Their primary emphasize was usually power, very visible with the Core i7 processors creaming AMD's processors, while recently they have been showing a lot of activity in mobile processing technology. The Ivy bridge and Atom platforms are now being taken more seriously and well, I can see a lot of activity in that domain.
There are a lot of code names thrown about
Clover Trail
Silvermont
Viewvalley
Airmont
We have already seen the power of Medfield in the Lava Xolo X900. This phone was pretty impressive with the jscript test standing closest to the iPhone 5 beating the giants S3 and One X.
So whats with the Clover trail processors?
According to this tabulation, the Clover trail application is mainly aimed at tablet, thanks to the battery constrains. However Intel is working hard on reducing consumption and fitting it into coming superphones.
This new series from Atom features a dual core processor [Saltwell with Hyper Threading] compared to the current Single core versions in Motorola Razr-i. A better GPU to top it up - introducing the new PowerVR SGX 545 @ 533 MHz compared to the earlier 400 MHz 540.
The interesting thing about Intel processor is that they support both Android platform as well as Windows. Many companies are very interested in incorporating this in their upcoming phones/tablets for instance, the Samsung's entry into Windows tablet is through this new processor, the Samsung Series 5.
The best thing about Clover Trail is it ability to provide full Windows 8 experience compared to the inferior ARM based Win 8 Tabs, thanks to the advanced architecture. [...and that's what eats up the battery]
Right now Intel is not so close to ARM in the power consumption issue, but they seem to be working with extreme vigor. The new processor series Clover trail has 2 power states [considering this dual core burner has to keep up with the battery]. S0i1 and S0i3. When you use the phone it will consume mW in the S0i1 state, and when its off - microWatts in the S0i3 state. That should keep the battery running long enough. There are predictions that theoretically this configuration in a tablet would last it for upto 3 weeks.
In their list they also have the Silvermont. With a 22nm fabrication and availability not just in single and dual but quad core versions, Intel is loading its arsenal for a full frontal attack. Also they are not stopping there, Airmont - which is scheduled in 2014 will be developed in a 14nm fabrication, increasing the transistors while decreasing consumption.
Not to forget Intel has serious technologies like 3D tri-gate transistors, which it can use to destroy its competitions. Compared to the other technology sites, I feel Intel is planning big on the mobile processor venture, which will be very evident with the new Airmont and Silvermont architecture shortly coming with the 3D tri-gate transistor in a much smaller 14 nm and 22 nm fab.
Also the new SPEC CPU2000 comparisons show Intel coasting through all the other processors in performance.
Chipsets
Now the processor is not everything in a phone. A good chipset can rev up the processor's performance with enhanced peripheral integration. However upgrades never stop and development is running light speed in this department. This is the few region the phone manufacturer can up the ante in.
Exynos 5
Samsung was super successful with its S i9003, and from there, there was no turning back. The humming bird processor [ARM A8] on the Exynos 3 chipset with the PowerVR SGX540 GPU thrashed the benchmark figures of iPhone 4. One of the few reason why android became so popular and Samsung the king of the hills, they didnt stop their developments. With the latest S3 runnning on Exynos 4 chipset with an ARM A9 quad core heart and Mali T400 overclocked GPU, its prett obvious they are growing out of this board. And well with that exactly in their mind, Samsung is pushing hard for the new Exynos 5 series chipset.
1. Supports a dual core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex A15 processor. As I said earlier, this new processor is projected to achieve 40 - 60% more performance than the current processor and with the new Mali T604 GPU [the one mentioned above] , this will open doors to high end tablets and mobiles where screen resolution may beat the ones in iPad 3.
2. New memory channel. This new chipset has an 800 MHz 32-bit Dual-channel LPDDR3/DDR3 (12.8 GB/sec) RAM technology, compared to the current Exynos 4 with 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR, LPDDR2, DDR2 or DDR3 (6.4 GB/sec). Thats almost double the clock cycle and thus double the i/o speed. And with faster RAM the phones/tablets operation becomes smoother than ever.
Although Samsung states the most important feature of this new chipset is going to be its new WQXGA support. Considered the best display resolution with limits upto 2560 x 1600, while consuming 20 times lower power than the current Exynos 4 SoC. They have learnt from the mistakes in S3 where they took a lot of flak for the Pentile screen compared to the RGBR screens in other high end phones.
Also this new chipset support double fps, which means it can support full HD stereoscopic 3D through HDMI cables to your smart TV. And with a high memory bandwidth and clock speed it can easily handle highly graphic intensive 3D contents.
Tegra 4, 5 and 6 series
And so the guys back at Nvidia kicked back with some cool names for their series of chipsets. They have named their chipset series with references from comic book superhero names.
With Kal-El [superman already in current phones] as Tegra 3 processors, there are 4 chipsets slated to arrive next year:
Tegra 4 Wayne [Batman] AP40 - 1.2 GHz to 1.8 GHz
Stupendous configuration, I have no idea where they are going to scram for battery power. This new chipset will contain a Quad core ARM A15 processor with a low power companion core for sleep modes.
They didn't stop there, this new chipset will get a new GPU from the GeForce ULP [Ultra Low Power] series with 24 cores for the quad core and 32 to 64 core GPU for the Octa core processors. Pushing the ARM A15 to its limits for their tablet products. Nvidia is launching a full frontal assault on the Exynos 5 chipset for space in the tablet market.
Rather than a 32 nm fab, this chipset will be of 28 nm fab and support DirectX 11+, PhysX and OpenGL 4.X. This looks like serious high end tablet material, and with such supports we can expect PC games optimized for tablets very soon. I'm batman!
Tegra Grey [Jean Grey] SP3X - 1.2 to 2.0 GHz
I don't know why there is a gender discrimination, but this chipset is slated to power smartphones and are comparatively lower in power. With the same Quad ARM A9 processors + the companion core on a 28 nm fab technology, it is said to improve the current smartphone base running on Tegra 3 chipset. With integrated Icera 4G processor, it will be able to handle 4G and so more of HTC phones with 4G technology will land in the stores next year.
Tegra 5 Logan [Wolverine]
Again spotting a Quad A15 processor with a low power companion core and improves GPU [GeForce ULP] it is said to be at least 50 times faster than Tegra 2 chipset [the ones in Asus EEE pad transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and so on]. Not so much of info available on this project although we will be updating soon!
Tegra 6 Stark [Ironman]
This chipset is said to be the stunner from the Tegra family. With performance scaled upto 100 times Tegra 2 and an ARMv8 instruction set , running in 64 bit instruction set, they are more of mainstream laptop processors than mobile. However this also indicates a promising growth in the tablet industry and also a solid competition for the Intel Ultra-book series. However this processor is more of a 2015 product than a 2013.
TI OMAP 5 Series
Two series have been announced in the OMAP 5 series, the
OMAP 5432 and OMAP 5430.
With a 2.0 GHz A15 Dual core processor and PowerVR SGX 544 running at 532 MHz clock and a dedicated 2D TI graphic accelerator, it has few new features compared to the counterparts. Although they are intended to be low cost chipsets for rather mid range phones, they do have certain qualities that can be compared to the latest chipsets. With a 32 bit dual channel 532 MHz memory technology and i/o speeds of 8.5 GB/s its still pretty impressive and maybe compared at par to the current high end phones. Also with a promising ARM A15 processor, this might be the most suitable chipset for the mid-range handsets.
It promises a 12% improvement from the iPad 3 running on SGX532.
NovaThor
Sony is showing a lot of interest in keeping up with the smartphone/tablet race with their recent products like the Xperia series and Tablet S and P. And not to fall behind in the big race has lined a lot of chipsets for the new ARM A15 processor. It also has a few chipset for accelerated A9 processors too.
ARM A9
NovaThor L9540
I'm pretty sure these are going into the low end Sony models next year. It has a 1.8 GHz Dual Core A9 processor with PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. Not a bad GPU considering if overclocked properly it can be compared at par with the ULP and Mali T400 with upto quad core extension and should neatly suffice for low and mid range phones. Also this chipset will be 4G enabled for maybe low cost LTE phones with an external Thor M7400 modem.
NovaThor A8540 L8540
The A series might not be for the phones, maybe low end tablets as it has no radio technology [mostly just Wi-Fi enabled tabs]. However the L series is pretty much the same L9540 with an addition of integrated modem rather than the Thor 7400 chip. This may result in a much more seamless DSP, and more fluidic response in connectivity and lower power consumption.
NovaThor A9600 L9600
Again the A series is for high end WiFi enabled tabs, and the L series for high end smartphones. It comes with an extreme 2.5 GHz A15 processor [that is the limit of A15's clock speed] and a PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] GPU. With both FD and TD LTE and CDMA technology in the same chipset and integrated modem for lower power consumption and smaller chip design. Both the chipsets are fabricated using 28nm die fabrication technique for improved power efficiency. And the PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] is truly Rogue! read more..
GPU
PowerVR 6 series
Popular with Apple, Imagination Technologies are trying to stay abreast with the tech scenario with this new Series 6 GPU. Two of the GPUs
PowerVR G6230 and G6430 are being developed on the new Rogue platform. With dual and quad core configurations available, they are pushing the crunch power with more addition of core clusters [like the ULP GeForce series] and from 100gigaFLOPS upto teraFLOPS of computing capability for high end segments.
We can see some serious performance in the coming Apple Ax and NovaThor based phones soon.
Adreno 320
Slightly faster than the overclocked Mali T400 GPU, this one coupled with the Krait Snapdragon S4 processor will be seen in the LG Optimus G Nexus. Already the benchmark scores looks promising with the Adreno 320 managing to stay afloat the current competition and a little under the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 and 543MP4. But lets bear in mind, these are custom GPUs for iPad3 hence the current compition amongst the Android smartphones looks easy for the Adreno 320 to handle.
Mali T658
The Mali T658 GPU was announced as a successor to the coming Mali T604 processor. With performance 10 x Mali T400 and 4 times the coming Mali T604 and scalable upto 8 cores it will be putting Apple's iPads to shame sooner than expected. Also this GPU has just more surprises waiting with a cross compatibility for ARMv8 instructions, it can be used in the 64bit instructions sets too and maybe used in extreme high end gaming tablets and ultrabook equivalents.
Mali Skrymir
This was a silent release from the ARM facility, codenamed the Skrymir will put even the Mali T658 to shame with 2 times the performance of the latter. And a 64bit instruction set support, this badboy can be coupled with the successor of A15 processor or maybe the Apple A7 64bit processor.
Screen
Sharp
Sharp has been actively developing LED screen with pixel densities higher than ever. Such screen will definitely give Android and Windows tablet an edge over the iPad. WQXGA is soon going to be obsolete with the new QFHD double HD screens [13.5 inch] from Sharps. With a 498 ppi 6.1 inch panel on its way, and the new Mali T658 series GPU and the new processors on its way, it wont be a surprise if our tablet/smartphone experience became a whole lot realistic!
So! It was a pretty long read right? For all those who came this far, I am sure you might not have come here for a casual read. And so if you do have any opinions or comments, do tell us. This sure looks like a new age for Smart.. oh! Super phones.
@/\/!
And not just that, I have also noticed that people are now more aware than ever about smartphones and their working, be it software or hardware. Well its not surprising considering the fact that one needs to gain tonnes of knowledge before buying a new smartphone.
And it is in this interest that I have compiled this article about all the technologies coming 2013 onward that's going to make you scrap the idea of getting a new One X or S III. But, this doesn't mean the current users are going to miss any of the 'phun'. The high end devices today have enough juice to last them till the end of '13.
Here is a list of advanced hardwares that will make up a new series of Super-phones!
Processors:
ARM
I'll start off with ARM's contribution to mobile technologies with their new ARM Cortex A-15.
This is the most popular of all the tech news running around the internet and quite old, although it is something commendable considering how far Cortex A-9 has pushed the mobile market.
So whats so great about ARM Cortex A15? Lets just say ARM was studying about these SoC [System on Chips] and they finally found out some ways to iron out some kinks. And after these learning steps, these is a significant improvement in the new A15's architecture and processing capability.
Someone in ARM may have had a vision that the current gen processors just wont be good enough for whats coming up. So what's so great about A15 compared A9:
1. Performance: The GHz in a processor represents the number of cycles it runs, and a way of measuring the performance of the processor is by the DMIPS/MHz. In laymen terms, this could be compared to Km/l for an automobile. DMIPS stands for - Dhrystone Millions of Instructions per Second. Like, how many millions of instructions it can finish processing in one MHz clock cycle. While the A9 has a 2.5 DMIPS/MHz, the new A15 clocked a 3.5 DMIPS/MHz and if pushed upto 4 DMIPS/MHz. Thats like a 40 - 60% improvement!
Again, we are all familiar with over-clocking. And well the new processor unlike the A9 [800 MHz - 2000 MHz] can be clocked to 1000 MHz - 2500 MHz. And with higher clockspeed and higher DMIPS/MHz, you get a potent blend for extreme power.
This new processor is expected on the new Exynos 5 chipset, Tegra series, OMAP and NovaThor series chipsets, which I will soon explain about.
2. Right now the current Quad core A9 processors are only 15% faster than the Dual core counterparts. But this will soon change with the A15 and its multi-thread operations. Of course the Quad A9 supports multi-threaded operations for apps, however with improved performance from the A15, the new processor could be 30% faster than the current A9 processor.
3. A15 is not just stopping at Quad core:
Just like how the A9 was pushed to quad core application through the Exynos 4 chipsets, the A15 can also be pushed except not just quad but 8 cores.
Also this new processor, which was built at server grades, comes with Hardware Virtualization supporting multiple ROM. So we may even find phones with more than one ROM running in the future.
Also this new processor will come with integrated NEON support. For the 'no-know', this is what helps smartphones play just any kind of media you load into it, be it mkv, mpeg4, avi, etc. With integration, the response will be much faster and more efficient.
4. The new GPU - Mali T604:
This might crush the heart of all S II users out there, but the GPU you people use is pure bullshit compared to whats coming. The new Mali T-604 is said to be 5 times faster than the ones used in S II and 3 times faster than the overclocked ones in S3 [ouch!]. Also, it supports the Google RenderScript used for hardware acceleration, resulting in more fluidic UI and richer animations in games. Also this new GPU wont stop at just a single core, but can be scaled upto quad core GPU. Currently, Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 comes with an 8 core and 12 core GPU, but these are just too weak compared to computation power of this new T604. Hence a quad 604 will kick ass compared to the rest!
According to James Bruce, ARM Lead Mobile Strategist, this new GPU will be so powerful that they can make the screen as close as to paper with almost invisible pixels. And with that a vast improvement in the graphics, hence my point - waiting for this new processor is sure to pay off!
Intel
Although really late with mobile processors, the veterans know what they are doing. Their primary emphasize was usually power, very visible with the Core i7 processors creaming AMD's processors, while recently they have been showing a lot of activity in mobile processing technology. The Ivy bridge and Atom platforms are now being taken more seriously and well, I can see a lot of activity in that domain.
There are a lot of code names thrown about
Clover Trail
Silvermont
Viewvalley
Airmont
We have already seen the power of Medfield in the Lava Xolo X900. This phone was pretty impressive with the jscript test standing closest to the iPhone 5 beating the giants S3 and One X.
So whats with the Clover trail processors?
According to this tabulation, the Clover trail application is mainly aimed at tablet, thanks to the battery constrains. However Intel is working hard on reducing consumption and fitting it into coming superphones.
This new series from Atom features a dual core processor [Saltwell with Hyper Threading] compared to the current Single core versions in Motorola Razr-i. A better GPU to top it up - introducing the new PowerVR SGX 545 @ 533 MHz compared to the earlier 400 MHz 540.
The interesting thing about Intel processor is that they support both Android platform as well as Windows. Many companies are very interested in incorporating this in their upcoming phones/tablets for instance, the Samsung's entry into Windows tablet is through this new processor, the Samsung Series 5.
The best thing about Clover Trail is it ability to provide full Windows 8 experience compared to the inferior ARM based Win 8 Tabs, thanks to the advanced architecture. [...and that's what eats up the battery]
Right now Intel is not so close to ARM in the power consumption issue, but they seem to be working with extreme vigor. The new processor series Clover trail has 2 power states [considering this dual core burner has to keep up with the battery]. S0i1 and S0i3. When you use the phone it will consume mW in the S0i1 state, and when its off - microWatts in the S0i3 state. That should keep the battery running long enough. There are predictions that theoretically this configuration in a tablet would last it for upto 3 weeks.
In their list they also have the Silvermont. With a 22nm fabrication and availability not just in single and dual but quad core versions, Intel is loading its arsenal for a full frontal attack. Also they are not stopping there, Airmont - which is scheduled in 2014 will be developed in a 14nm fabrication, increasing the transistors while decreasing consumption.
Not to forget Intel has serious technologies like 3D tri-gate transistors, which it can use to destroy its competitions. Compared to the other technology sites, I feel Intel is planning big on the mobile processor venture, which will be very evident with the new Airmont and Silvermont architecture shortly coming with the 3D tri-gate transistor in a much smaller 14 nm and 22 nm fab.
Also the new SPEC CPU2000 comparisons show Intel coasting through all the other processors in performance.
Chipsets
Now the processor is not everything in a phone. A good chipset can rev up the processor's performance with enhanced peripheral integration. However upgrades never stop and development is running light speed in this department. This is the few region the phone manufacturer can up the ante in.
Exynos 5
Samsung was super successful with its S i9003, and from there, there was no turning back. The humming bird processor [ARM A8] on the Exynos 3 chipset with the PowerVR SGX540 GPU thrashed the benchmark figures of iPhone 4. One of the few reason why android became so popular and Samsung the king of the hills, they didnt stop their developments. With the latest S3 runnning on Exynos 4 chipset with an ARM A9 quad core heart and Mali T400 overclocked GPU, its prett obvious they are growing out of this board. And well with that exactly in their mind, Samsung is pushing hard for the new Exynos 5 series chipset.
1. Supports a dual core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex A15 processor. As I said earlier, this new processor is projected to achieve 40 - 60% more performance than the current processor and with the new Mali T604 GPU [the one mentioned above] , this will open doors to high end tablets and mobiles where screen resolution may beat the ones in iPad 3.
2. New memory channel. This new chipset has an 800 MHz 32-bit Dual-channel LPDDR3/DDR3 (12.8 GB/sec) RAM technology, compared to the current Exynos 4 with 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR, LPDDR2, DDR2 or DDR3 (6.4 GB/sec). Thats almost double the clock cycle and thus double the i/o speed. And with faster RAM the phones/tablets operation becomes smoother than ever.
Although Samsung states the most important feature of this new chipset is going to be its new WQXGA support. Considered the best display resolution with limits upto 2560 x 1600, while consuming 20 times lower power than the current Exynos 4 SoC. They have learnt from the mistakes in S3 where they took a lot of flak for the Pentile screen compared to the RGBR screens in other high end phones.
Also this new chipset support double fps, which means it can support full HD stereoscopic 3D through HDMI cables to your smart TV. And with a high memory bandwidth and clock speed it can easily handle highly graphic intensive 3D contents.
Tegra 4, 5 and 6 series
And so the guys back at Nvidia kicked back with some cool names for their series of chipsets. They have named their chipset series with references from comic book superhero names.
With Kal-El [superman already in current phones] as Tegra 3 processors, there are 4 chipsets slated to arrive next year:
Tegra 4 Wayne [Batman] AP40 - 1.2 GHz to 1.8 GHz
Stupendous configuration, I have no idea where they are going to scram for battery power. This new chipset will contain a Quad core ARM A15 processor with a low power companion core for sleep modes.
They didn't stop there, this new chipset will get a new GPU from the GeForce ULP [Ultra Low Power] series with 24 cores for the quad core and 32 to 64 core GPU for the Octa core processors. Pushing the ARM A15 to its limits for their tablet products. Nvidia is launching a full frontal assault on the Exynos 5 chipset for space in the tablet market.
Rather than a 32 nm fab, this chipset will be of 28 nm fab and support DirectX 11+, PhysX and OpenGL 4.X. This looks like serious high end tablet material, and with such supports we can expect PC games optimized for tablets very soon. I'm batman!
Tegra Grey [Jean Grey] SP3X - 1.2 to 2.0 GHz
I don't know why there is a gender discrimination, but this chipset is slated to power smartphones and are comparatively lower in power. With the same Quad ARM A9 processors + the companion core on a 28 nm fab technology, it is said to improve the current smartphone base running on Tegra 3 chipset. With integrated Icera 4G processor, it will be able to handle 4G and so more of HTC phones with 4G technology will land in the stores next year.
Tegra 5 Logan [Wolverine]
Again spotting a Quad A15 processor with a low power companion core and improves GPU [GeForce ULP] it is said to be at least 50 times faster than Tegra 2 chipset [the ones in Asus EEE pad transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and so on]. Not so much of info available on this project although we will be updating soon!
Tegra 6 Stark [Ironman]
This chipset is said to be the stunner from the Tegra family. With performance scaled upto 100 times Tegra 2 and an ARMv8 instruction set , running in 64 bit instruction set, they are more of mainstream laptop processors than mobile. However this also indicates a promising growth in the tablet industry and also a solid competition for the Intel Ultra-book series. However this processor is more of a 2015 product than a 2013.
TI OMAP 5 Series
Two series have been announced in the OMAP 5 series, the
OMAP 5432 and OMAP 5430.
With a 2.0 GHz A15 Dual core processor and PowerVR SGX 544 running at 532 MHz clock and a dedicated 2D TI graphic accelerator, it has few new features compared to the counterparts. Although they are intended to be low cost chipsets for rather mid range phones, they do have certain qualities that can be compared to the latest chipsets. With a 32 bit dual channel 532 MHz memory technology and i/o speeds of 8.5 GB/s its still pretty impressive and maybe compared at par to the current high end phones. Also with a promising ARM A15 processor, this might be the most suitable chipset for the mid-range handsets.
It promises a 12% improvement from the iPad 3 running on SGX532.
NovaThor
Sony is showing a lot of interest in keeping up with the smartphone/tablet race with their recent products like the Xperia series and Tablet S and P. And not to fall behind in the big race has lined a lot of chipsets for the new ARM A15 processor. It also has a few chipset for accelerated A9 processors too.
ARM A9
NovaThor L9540
I'm pretty sure these are going into the low end Sony models next year. It has a 1.8 GHz Dual Core A9 processor with PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. Not a bad GPU considering if overclocked properly it can be compared at par with the ULP and Mali T400 with upto quad core extension and should neatly suffice for low and mid range phones. Also this chipset will be 4G enabled for maybe low cost LTE phones with an external Thor M7400 modem.
NovaThor A8540 L8540
The A series might not be for the phones, maybe low end tablets as it has no radio technology [mostly just Wi-Fi enabled tabs]. However the L series is pretty much the same L9540 with an addition of integrated modem rather than the Thor 7400 chip. This may result in a much more seamless DSP, and more fluidic response in connectivity and lower power consumption.
NovaThor A9600 L9600
Again the A series is for high end WiFi enabled tabs, and the L series for high end smartphones. It comes with an extreme 2.5 GHz A15 processor [that is the limit of A15's clock speed] and a PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] GPU. With both FD and TD LTE and CDMA technology in the same chipset and integrated modem for lower power consumption and smaller chip design. Both the chipsets are fabricated using 28nm die fabrication technique for improved power efficiency. And the PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] is truly Rogue! read more..
GPU
PowerVR 6 series
Popular with Apple, Imagination Technologies are trying to stay abreast with the tech scenario with this new Series 6 GPU. Two of the GPUs
PowerVR G6230 and G6430 are being developed on the new Rogue platform. With dual and quad core configurations available, they are pushing the crunch power with more addition of core clusters [like the ULP GeForce series] and from 100gigaFLOPS upto teraFLOPS of computing capability for high end segments.
We can see some serious performance in the coming Apple Ax and NovaThor based phones soon.
Adreno 320
Slightly faster than the overclocked Mali T400 GPU, this one coupled with the Krait Snapdragon S4 processor will be seen in the LG Optimus G Nexus. Already the benchmark scores looks promising with the Adreno 320 managing to stay afloat the current competition and a little under the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 and 543MP4. But lets bear in mind, these are custom GPUs for iPad3 hence the current compition amongst the Android smartphones looks easy for the Adreno 320 to handle.
Mali T658
The Mali T658 GPU was announced as a successor to the coming Mali T604 processor. With performance 10 x Mali T400 and 4 times the coming Mali T604 and scalable upto 8 cores it will be putting Apple's iPads to shame sooner than expected. Also this GPU has just more surprises waiting with a cross compatibility for ARMv8 instructions, it can be used in the 64bit instructions sets too and maybe used in extreme high end gaming tablets and ultrabook equivalents.
Mali Skrymir
This was a silent release from the ARM facility, codenamed the Skrymir will put even the Mali T658 to shame with 2 times the performance of the latter. And a 64bit instruction set support, this badboy can be coupled with the successor of A15 processor or maybe the Apple A7 64bit processor.
Screen
Sharp
Sharp has been actively developing LED screen with pixel densities higher than ever. Such screen will definitely give Android and Windows tablet an edge over the iPad. WQXGA is soon going to be obsolete with the new QFHD double HD screens [13.5 inch] from Sharps. With a 498 ppi 6.1 inch panel on its way, and the new Mali T658 series GPU and the new processors on its way, it wont be a surprise if our tablet/smartphone experience became a whole lot realistic!
So! It was a pretty long read right? For all those who came this far, I am sure you might not have come here for a casual read. And so if you do have any opinions or comments, do tell us. This sure looks like a new age for Smart.. oh! Super phones.
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